So's Your Face!

"So's Your Face" that is my comeback for anything these days. It's right up there with "That's what she said...." I say it not out of anger or malice; rather, I say it to amuse myself. Generally, when life gets busy, I have to humor myself. Otherwise, I become disgruntled and I take out my frustrations in things that aren't really there. I think that the people around me feel that I am upset with then, but I'm not at all. I'm just frustrated with nothing in particular. More so, I'm high strung because I'm one of those "Type A's" who set ridiculously high standards and work for myself. When tasks aren't completed, I take it out on myself. So, saying "So's your face" is a means of letting off steam in small increments, thus preventing a blow up.

Thanksgiving will be here soon and I have been busy trying to get ready. The next few days will be busy ones, but that is all part of the tradition. I will be baking pies, and breads, making chocolate truffles and cranberry sauce and cleaning like a Roomba. However, I'll ease the work with a marathon of House playing on the kitchen DVD player, and that will keep me in high spirits. Also, at some point I will give myself a manicure.

Last week, my best best and I had a badly needed girl day. We ate food, had girl talk and dyed some hair. She was moving into her new home this weekend and will be hosting a big family Thanksgiving dinner in her new home. So, we both needed to have a break and recoup before this week. This allows us to become clear headed and really appreciate our bounty of blessings.

I was reading the history of the first Thanksgiving and the relationships between the pilgrims (separatist's) and the Wampanoag people. It is really interesting and humbling to learn what those people experienced and what they had to endure on new land. It also says a lot about generosity and good will toward man. It is such an interesting subject to study.

Well, I hope to be making pilgrim hats today for my nephews and a table cloth for the "kiddie table." Today, I'll also watch The Wizard of Oz. Tomorrow, we'll watch Return to Oz and then Wednesday, we're watching Tinman- it's sort of a new Thanksgiving week tradition.
I am looking forward to see my sisters and their families on Thursday, as well as the tradition of watching the parade on tv. I think my favorite part is seeing The Rockettes dance. What is your favorite parade participant? What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Well, I'll post again after things are less busy. Laundry beckons, until then~ Toodaloo!

Friday the Thirteenth!

Wow! It's been a crazy busy week. There is so much going on, that taking time on the computer isn't easy. I have been so busy at school this week and I'm tired. Walking to the school and home each day is over a mile of walking, up hill. Sometimes, I walk to and from twice! That combined with general wear and tear of taking care of kiddo and teaching other peoples kiddo's, makes me tired. I'm trying to not push myself too much with this flu going around. I want to be well rested.

Well, I am continually thinking of ways in which I can decorate for the Thanksgiving Season. I am posting more photos of things that I've done thus far. The other day, my mother got me the complete and unabridged works of Jane Austen all in one volume! That combined with three L.M. Montgomery books I've recently acquired ( but haven't yet read) should keep me relaxed for the next few months.

Yesterday was one of those, as Anne Shirley would put it, "Jonah Day" sort of days. I was exhausted, so I treated myself to the November/ December issue of Victoria magazine and some eggnog flavored and peppermint mocha flavored creamer. The eggnog creamer was fantastic! It was just what I needed yesterday. I started looking at my magazine, and it had some great stuff in it for Christmas, but I couldn't really savor it...dinner beckoned.

Tomorrow should be an eventful day. I am starting my day by hanging out will some Civil War reenactors and then, my sister is coming over with her sons for me to babysit. I think we'll watch The Polar Express and have some seriously hot cocoa with marshmallows. Yowzers McGee! I'm tired. I think I'll sleep until 7:30 a.m. tomorrow! Until then! ~ Toodaloo!

Friday Is Here!

Friday is here, and at last, I may relax. The other day, I was going to post, but my camera batteries ran out of energy. So, the problem has been solved and I can now post. I made this wreath, the other day, out of a grapevine ring, a fall leaf garland, fake flowers, pine cones and fake fruit. I really like it on the front door, it feels so welcoming. I even made some apple crisp that day too.

In my free time this week, I've been making decorations and putting them on display as I go. It makes the house feel so cozy, especially when I am melting the "Be Thankful" tart in my tart warmer- Wow, does that smell awesome! I made a new discovery this past week- I bought the movie Persuasion on DVD. If you are a fan of Jane Austen books and/or a fan of the movies based on her books, this is a find! It has all of the classic elements of Austen stories and it just makes you feel happy and so girly!

I went to the thrift store this week and I bought a fun vase that looks similar to a cookie jar my mom has. It is very retro looking, it looks like it was made in the 1970's.

I also got these Pilgrim figurines.

I'll show more of my decorating projects in my next blog. I have designated Saturday as "craft day" for myself and my nephew. I have no idea what we'll make, but it should be interesting.

It snowed all day and through the night yesterday. I was surprised when I glanced out the window this morning and saw that it actually accumulated enough to blanket the ground! Walking to school today, the tree branches were dusted with snow cover and it was very pretty to see. That is one of the perks to walking; the beauty of the neighborhood, that would otherwise be missed by riding to school. The streets were slick though, there was a lot of ice on the pavement.

At recess, the kids were making snowmen, the first of the season, and they were rolling the body segments onto the cedar chips that are spread over the ground. These giant snowballs, with cedar chips coating them, reminded me of cheese balls coated in almond slivers. By tomorrow, the snow should be mostly melted away. However, there is plenty of time left before Thanksgiving to have more snow. Until next time~ Toodaloo!

November Is Here!

Once again, this week proved to be a hectic one. It seems as though when I want to have a productive week, other things come up. My week was, however, punctuated with fun things like coffee with friends, and the ever delightful "girl days" with my best best. In preparation for Halloween, my nephew and I made these delicious chocolate cupcakes. They are filled with green tinted tapioca pudding. We topped them with orange flavored frosting that was the color of mercury and bedazzled with Halloween jimmies. The tapioca pudding has a fun texture for creepy cupcakes. All of the parts of the treat- cupcake, pudding, and frosting were made from scratch!

Halloween day was a mess! I had so much to do. I had to sew my costume, which took way longer than I wanted, and I had to make Halloween chili in the slow cooker. I also had to carve a pumpkin and make toasted pumpkin seeds. I toasted mine for about twenty minutes and then coated them with a spicy/sugary, butter mixture and toasted them for about another twenty minutes. They were so yummy, and I had a hard time not eating them.

We went trick-or-treating on all of the streets nearby and we came home to Halloween chili. It was a perfect October evening to end October for the year. The night air was warm, with a gentle, yet gusty wind blowing. The moon was big and bright hiding behind dark clouds, and other parts of the neighborhood smelled like campfire, with people burning fires in their fire pits. It was a truly whimsical night. After we feasted on chili, we had cupcakes and gingerbread tea and watched "Nosferatu."

So, today was the annual Halloween aftermath- letdown. After any big holiday, I feel a little bummed. All the exciting celebrating and feasting builds up and then there's the holiday, then it's done so quickly. I eased my disappointment by clearing away all of the Halloween decorations outside and inside the house and I started decorating for Thanksgiving! Soon, I'll post all about that. You see, there is always something wonderful to look forward to! ~ Toodaloo